


a force stronger than fire

by egare



Category: Elder Scrolls
Genre: Curious Children, Gen, and Equally Curious Dragons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 06:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10211912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egare/pseuds/egare
Summary: There was once a young boy that befriended a dragon.





	

His name was Leif, the dragon's Numinex.

The boy had stumbled across Numinex on accident, the first time. He had just reached eight winters and his brothers- seven, ten, and eleven winters respectively- had told him that "to be a real Nord, you have to climb this mountain and put this amulet on the top of the tallest pillar. And bring down the potion that was put up there, hundreds of years ago."

(They were all young enough to ignore the slight gray tint of Leif's skin and the redness of his eyes, signaling the fact that he would never be a 'real Nord' when half the blood of a grayskinned slave owner ran through his veins.)

"Who put it up there?"

A pause, before his eldest brother told the story of 'the First Dragonborn' that was apparently born a dragon, and turned into a mortal once he created and drank the potion that was now on the tallest pillar of Mount Anthor.

"What's to stop me from making my own potion and pretending it is the one on the mountain?" He had asked them, curious about their answer. They had always been a bit slower than their brother, and it was funny to watch them splutter for a minute, before they decided to physically fight their way out of the situation.

Usually, it ended with a bruise, but Leif thought it was worth it.

"Honor." The eldest replied. After a beat of thoughtful silence, he added, "and we'll dump animal dung on you if we find out."

Leif didn't really believe them, about the Dragonborn story nor the animal dung, but they pressured him to go and "Become a real Nord!", and he complied. He accepted the only tools allowed- a dagger, a fur cloak, and rope- and was ushered in the direction of the mountain.

And so he took two days to climb, humming to himself for the majority of it to break the silence of his trial. He lived off the berries he found and the goat he killed, until he reached the top of the mountain. The trip itself wasn't difficult- the only predators he had crossed were bears, and they slept deep enough for Leif to just sneak past unseen. All in all, it was a peaceful trip.

That was, until he arrived at the top of the mountain.

He paused when he came across a curious sight. A winged beast, with steam coming out of its nostrils and its eyes closed tightly. It did not seem to sense him, as he slunk forward in the shadows; he took two steps closer, keeping his eyes on the serpent, and taking note of the few glints of silver against its purple scales.

He had heard the stories, of the great Dragon War years ago. Of how Men rose up against their dragon overlords and defeated them, killing them all with the help of Kyne herself. But everyone thought them all to be dead. It had been three hundred years since dozens of dead dragons were entombed in burial mounds, and the remains of the last loyalists of the Dragon Cult were found by Skorm Snow-Strider. The real question at the moment however, away from history, was staring Leif right in the face.

What was a dragon doing, alive, in Skyrim?

A loud rumble made him lose his balance and he stumbled to the ground, wondering what the sound had come from. The beast's eyes opened slowly, and Leif realized that it was the dragon's stomach that had made the sound. It was... hungry? A harsh pressure formed in Leif's chest, pitying the beast.

With a plan in mind he turned and moved down the hill, tying his rope in a small collar and climbing a tree. His father had taught him the trick, to catch animals without them running from him, and he waited patiently until a goat had walked under the branches of his perch. He dropped the rope quickly and jumped out of the tree, tightening his makeshift collar around the animal and keeping her close. Leif then began to ascend the mountain once more, hoping the dragon had not woken from the sounds of the goat.

When he reached the top of the mountain, he was happy to see the dragon awake but still lying down, studying his surroundings. The boy untied the rope around the goat's neck, hitting her on the backside and watching as she headed to her doom to the dragon. She seemed to register the fact that it was indeed a creature, not a part of the environment, that she was heading to, but it was far too late for her to back away.

The dragon was looking at the goat with a hunger in its eyes, and Leif didn't flinch when the winged serpent swallowed the animal whole. Or the following animals in the passing minutes, wolves and bears that came at the smell of goat blood. There was less blood than he assumed there would have been, he realized- not that the butcher's son had a problem with blood. It was just interesting that it was able to eat an entire animal so... cleanly.

Some Nords couldn't even eat a carrot without getting pieces all over them, his three brothers and sister included. It made him lose his appetite, to be honest, watching spits of food leave someone's mouth- But Leif broke out of his musing and looked to the dragon once more, and nearly screamed when he noticed where its eyes were directed.

The dragon was looking down at the boy, head tilted in curiosity, as both were unsure what the other would do. It took a moment, and a lack of fire, but Leif realized that the dragon did not know he was there. Rather, it was looking in the direction the goat came from, wondering if more would come.

When it did not seem to be the case, the beast lowered its head and shut its eyelids, starting to rest. He took that time to sneak forward, staying as far away from the dragon as possible, and tiptoeing to the pillar that had a potion on top of it.

Of course it was the closest one to the dragon. He moved forward, thankful for the quietness of his feet on snow, and gripped the pillar, fully prepared to climb it. But he was startled by the sudden snapping of the dragon's eyes, opening up and catching sight of him. Leif stumbled back, his own eyes widening in amazement as the beast raised its head and roared. Fire blazed in the sky, disappearing as smoke after a few seconds, as the dragon tried to scare away its supposed intruder. But as Leif moved forward, it took a step back, roaring a second time.

Something was wrong with it. Why would it be afraid of a child?

He moved to the dragon's side, getting out of the way of its easiest direction to spew fire at, and nearly paused when he caught sight of something in the creature, explaining the lack of his own death. The same glint of silver from before caught his eyes, and he realized what had happened.

There were three swords embedded in the dragon, one in its tail, and the other two in one of its hind legs. Leif made eye contact with the creature, moving closer to the injuries and ignoring the third roar that was meant to try and scare him away. His hands grasped the first greatsword, on the hilt of its tail, and without a second of hesitation he pulled.

Leif stumbled back when the sword slid out, and his breath caught in his throat when he realized how close to the edge of the mountain he was. But something warm stopped him from falling, and there was the feeling of liquid on his back as he was pulled closer to the winged serpent.

The tail that he had just freed had caught him.

He wondered vaguely how he was going to explain the splatter of dragon's blood on his back, as he made eye contact once more with the injured creature, heading to the hind leg and grabbing the closer of the two swords. This was harder to pull out, and the dragon's moving tail was not helping as it reacted to the pain. Perhaps the sword had hit bone?

Yet Leif managed to pull it out, with a softer growl from the creature. There was only one more sword left, and although there was some resistance, the final blade slid out, and fell to the floor.

The dragon shook its body, like a dog shaking off water, and Leif watched in amazement as arrows started to fly off of it. It seemed like he had not been able to move properly with his tail pinned down, but the boy knew it was not yet fully healed, as drops of blood splattered against the white snow. He moved to the dragon's head, testing the waters before moving forward and lifting his hands to show he meant no harm. Magicka started to trickle out of his hands, as he prepared a healing spell.

The dragon's eyes narrowed and it tried to hit Leif away when it saw the light in the halfbreed's hands. It seemed that it was not on good relations with magic, as Leif moved back to avoid being headbutted by the beast.

"It will help!" He tried to explain, calling away his magic to try and assure the creature he meant no harm. The dragon paused, eyes narrowed, before lowering his head and letting Leif come forward. Perhaps it realized that he was in the perfect spot to be burned alive, if he tried anything. With hesitant steps Leif closed the distance, putting his hands on the dragon's snout, and letting his magicka pool out to help heal the beast.

A silence fell over the two, as the wounds knitted together, confirming that Leif only wished to help. It was when the wounds were closed, and the halfbreed was shaking from the sudden loss of magicka, that the dragon broke the silence.

" _Bovul daar strunmah, joor._ Leave this mountain." He ordered, his voice a near growl as he once again began to try and get the boy to leave.

"I have to get the potion at the top of the pillar." He explained, ignoring the growing smoke from the dragon that tried to intimidate him. A part of him knew he was being foolish, but he had come all this way- he had faced a dragon- for the potion, and would not return empty handed.

"Potion?" He asked, his eyes following the movements of the child that gripped the pillar. His tail swatted the potion down, and he watched as the boy frantically got off and moved to catch the vial, falling in the snow to do so.

After a pause, the boy still lying face-down in the snow, the dragon heard a muffled, "thank you."

" _Bovul, meykei joor._ "

At his tilted head, the dragon seemed exasperated, translating for the inquisitive yet careless child.

"Leave, foolish mortal."

"But I can see Masser and Secunda." Now, it was the dragon's turn to be curious. With a head tilt of his own, he got the child to explain, pointing to the moons. "Father said to not leave the house when you see Masser, because there are too many dangerous creatures out at night."

"Yet you are outside now." The dragon pointed out. Leif paused, before giving a shrug. In response, Numinex pondered, "Why are you here, on my mountain?"

"I was on a quest. For the philter that turned a dragon into the first Dragonborn." He got an amused snort in return, and Leif shrugged once more, admitting, "I do not really believe it, either."

A thoughtful silence fell upon the two, as the first sounds of the nocturnal animals were heard through the night.

"Miraak was born a mortal." The dragon broke the silence, seeming to want conversation. Leif wondered vaguely how long he had been trapped on the mountain, barely surviving off the animals that dared to get too close to him.

"Did he die one, too?"

The dragon paused, before shaking his head. "He was saved before his death. I am unsure where he is, now."

"Divine intervention?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps the opposite, as well."

The child's eyebrows lifted, but he said nothing on the idea of Daedric intervention. Silence fell over the two, before Leif challenged it, hesitant.

"Why are you not eating me?"

"Do you want me to eat you?" Numinex questioned back, before exhaling a small amount of warm air from his nostrils. Leif stumbled and held onto the wall to stay standing against the sudden wind, but shook his head, against the idea. "If you must know, it is because I am no longer hungry. You may send your gratitude to the goats."

Laughter from the child made Numinex grin, aware of the basic emotions of the strange creature that was keeping him company. After he caught his breath, the boy turned to the dragon, a smile on his face.

"My name is Leif. Leif Sun-Trotter."

"Like the part of a tree?" It questioned, amused at the small glare it had received. A foolhardy child, to openly glare at something ten times his size, and hundreds of years his elder.

"It's short for Deradrosleif. My mother told me to be Deradros with the Dunmer, and Leif with the Nords."

"I am a Nord, then." The dragon mused, vaguely aware that that was a type of Man, and the other a Mer. Much like the dragons separated by color and strength, the mortals did as well. Leif seemed offended at what he suggested.

"I just like Leif better. I haven't been Deradros since..." Since they fled for Skyrim, since his mother and older sister died and Leif made his way to Skyrim alone. "Years ago."

Silence fell over the two, before Numinex commented, "Your second name is curious."

Leif gave a bark of laughter, nodding in agreement, "My ma used to say I should take it if we ever got free. I am always running with my head in the clouds and my mind near the sun, she would say."

There was a pause in conversation, Leif unsure of what to say and Numinex conflicted on if he should offer information of his own. A part of his mind assured him this was not a trick, and that he need not be so on guard around the mortal.

"Numunax." He gave his name in return, and showed his teeth in an attempt at a smile when he heard the child pronounce it, confusing the vowels. " _Drem Yol Lok wah strunmahl, malkringein._ Welcome to my mountain."

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact- the title comes from Leif's name in the Dragon Language. 'Lehfo sunah turottoor', after some artistic liberty, translates to "Lest the frost be Kyne's fury, a force stronger than any dragon's fire."


End file.
